


Illusions and Truths

by shadowglove88



Series: The Morningstar Series [7]
Category: Constantine (2005), Smallville, Supernatural
Genre: Angels are Dicks, Castiel doesn't quite get it but he doesn't dislike it, Castiel is a Sweetheart, Chloe is seriously trying to seduce Castiel, F/M, Heaven is full of dicks, Illusion Des Sosies, Impersonation, Midnite is acting odd, Papa Midnite's, She's coming on strong, VERy STRONG, Virgin Castiel, Will o' the Wisps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 17:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15868803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowglove88/pseuds/shadowglove88
Summary: So it mightn't be the Apocalypse, but something is definitely up, especially close to Chloe. And she might've noticed it, or paid better attention, if she wasn't so caught up in her relationship with Cas FINALLY starting to turn romantic.





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel had sworn that there wasn't an Apocalypse afoot, but that there  _was_  some disturbance brewing in this plane. His brothers and sisters didn't know exactly what it was, but it was centered around L.A., and they were wondering if another Big Bad wasn't trying to rear up his head and prove something to the the others in the country. Whatever it was, other than the orbs there really wasn't anything going on, so Chloe didn't pay more attention to the will o' the wisps. She went about her daily life, though she admitted to slowing down as she walked passed the seedy apartments down the block from Papa Midnite's, and she sometimes tried to sneak a glance in the direction of the diner right across the street without it being obvious.

"Cowgirl? Really?" Chloe asked, curious, lifting the itsy bitsy uniform with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't peg you for the cowgirl loving kind, Midnite." She looked up at her boss, amused. "And what are you doing here anyway? I thought you were away on business?"

"It got cancelled," Midnite responded, sitting on his seat and steepling his fingers as he watched her oddly. "And out of curiosity, what exactly did you peg me for?"

"Uh, I've been wearing gothic lolita costumes lately." Chloe shrugged as she eyed the costume up and down once more, not really sure about it. "So I imagined your tastes were, I don't know,  _darker_."

"Sometimes change is better," he murmured, standing and moving around his desk, passing her, but not before slapping her ass.

Chloe's mouth fell open in shock as he slid out of his office, destination  _wherever_.

Had he just-?

 _Midnite_?

Horror filled her.

Midnite had  _never_  so much as given indication that he realized she was a woman, much less  _harass_  her! It was what she'd always  _liked_  about him!

Shaking her head, telling herself that the sexified cowgirl suit  _proved_ her boss was just having an off day, Chloe sighed and went to the bathroom, changing into the pink number. Making a face at the thing, Chloe admitted that she disagreed with Midnite's assumption. Change wasn't always better. She  _much_  prefer the darker outfits to this bright and  _pink_  one. She honestly felt  _ridiculous_  wearing it, but Midnite was the boss and she liked this job  _a lot_ , so she wasn't going to complain. She'd get through this night and then tomorrow night would have a better costume waiting on her.

Chuckling at how Midnite had quite taken to the slight kink of the costume aspect of her job, Chloe shook her head and emerged, stopping when she found Midnite had returned, and was eyeing her like a predator.

"You forget something, Midnite?" She raised an eyebrow, trying not to let how uneasy she felt right now show.

His gaze trailed up and down her body and he gave her a slow, lecherous smile. "No. Just like I remembered."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Chloe cleared her throat and looked away. "Well, the club is opening in five, so I'll be going."

She slid out of his office and leaned against the door, frowning.

This wasn't like Midnite.

Shaking her head Chloe went to her post behind the counter, wondering when Midnite was going to hire another girl. It wasn't that Chloe couldn't handle everything by herself, but because of the lack of bartenders each night was rushed, and she couldn't take five minutes to enjoy it like she used to.

"Chloe."

A shiver of delight ran down her spine at the sound of her name on that voice. Chloe looked up and couldn't keep the grin off of her face as Cas stalked into the room, holy tax-accountant trench coat billowing behind him with every step. She'd get him out of that trenchcoat one day, it was a promise she'd made to herself and was determined to keep.

" _Cas_." Coming out from behind the counter, Chloe pulled out one of the toy guys in the holsters at her waist and pointed it at the angel. "Stop in the name of fashion."

Cas stopped, tilting his head, eyeing her curiously. "You look... different."

"Don't I?" She chuckled, twirling the gun on her finger before shucking it back nose-down into the holster. "For some reason Midnite decided to go with pink cowgirl tonight."

"I'm used to seeing you in dark colors," Cas admitted, continuing towards her, eyeing her.

"Well, he's the boss." She sighed. "Plus, I  _did_  kinda set myself up for this when I came up in that costume that once. I didn't realize that it'd be so popular amongst the patrons though, or that Midnite would punish me for nearly giving everyone a heart attack at first by making me  _always_  wear a costume."

Cas smiled slightly, shaking his head. "I heard about the time you came as the devil. The angels nearly had a conniption."

She chuckled darkly, remembering that. "Good times."

"You should not be so happy at the thought of displeasing Angels of the Lord." Castiel scolded in that way of his which betrayed he knew that nothing he said would really change her, but it was his duty to scold her so he did it anyway.

Chloe bit down on her bottom lip, amused as she closed the distance between them and straightened his shirt, playing with his necktie as she gazed up at him through her eyelashes. "There's only  _one_  Angel of the Lord I want to  _please_."

Castiel looked down at her, confused, and yet obviously affected as he gulped.

Loudly.

Even if his angelic mind wasn't exactly getting everything, his instincts were.

From where she was playing with his necktie, Chloe let one of her hands slowly make its way down Cas' chest, her green eyes never leaving his blue ones as her hand continued to travel downwards.

"What... are you... doing?" His breathed hitched, his lips parting.

"Trying to... please... you," Chloe whispered, knowing there was an evil smile on her face as she cupped him over his pants, causing him to nearly  _jump_.

Cas let out a groan that was a mixture of pain, pleasure, shock, and confusion.

She stepped up on her tiptoes and leaned into him, lips brushing against the shell of his ear as she whispered. "Seems like I'm doing a damn good job."

Sensing movement from the doorway, she pulled away and yanked the front of his trench coat together, buttoning two buttons, effectively hiding the results of her actions. Her gaze rose to Castiel's darkened gaze and she grinned before looking around him at Carl, who was eyeing them with barely restrained amusement. "Ready to open?"

"Yes Miss Sullivan, there's a crowd waiting outside already." Carl nodded.

"So early?" Chloe asked, surprised, but then just shrugged and nodded. "Let them in."

"Yes ma'am." Carl turned and left.

Chloe turned to go back to the bar when Castiel grabbed her arm and jerked her back around to face him, blue eyes narrowed and on her. "Why did you just accost my Vessel?"

Well, putting it that way she sounded like a villain, didn't she?

Chloe took in a deep breath. "Because I couldn't think of any other way to get you to realize that you interest me." She raised her chin. "Sexually."

"Why?" Castiel asked, seeming wary.

She narrowed her eyes. "Do I really have to name the reasons?" At his look she huffed and did so just. "I find you attractive, both physically and mentally."

Castiel let go of her, looking away. "I-I have never done this sort of thing before."

She couldn't keep the small smile off of her face. "I kinda figured that out already, Cas."

"You do not understand." He frowned at her. "I know of your past... dalliances."

Chloe blinked. "Dalliances?"

"You were tainted with the Morning Star Grace. Lumiel when he fell, took upon him many different consorts, and heaven expected it when you did as well." Castiel's lips straightened out in a grim way. "You took the brothers Winchester as consorts, and while that is not our way, it was Lumiel's, and you now house his tainted grace so certain exceptions were given."

Chloe looked away, not sure what to think of that.

"You've taken other temporary consorts as well in the bathroom of this very establishment."

She took in a deep breath in sudden realization. Castiel was  _judging_  her.

"I know of those demons, and I know nothing that they do."

Chloe blinked, confused. "Huh?"

Castiel wouldn't look at her, very visibly confused. "I am a warrior of Heaven. I know nothing of carnal pleasures. It-it would be better if you thought of acquiring a mate, or even consorts, who would be more up to your level."

"Are you calling me a whore?" Chloe snapped, eyes narrowing.

" _No_!" Castiel growled, running his hand over his hair in a rare sign of frustration. "I don't-I do not understand how to explain myself well in words! I-I-if I laid with you I would not meet your expect-."

Chloe surged forwards and grabbed his tie, pulling him to her and kissing him, opening her mouth to his lips and teasing him with nibbles and a flick of her tongue.

He hesitated, he stiffened, and then he let instinct take over.

Castiel's arms wrapped around her, crushing her to his chest and arching her into him slightly. His kisses were awkward and innocent, obviously not sure what he was doing and yet  _trying_.

Chloe whimpered into the kiss, burying her hands fingers deep into his hair. Her body was warm and tingly and felt  _nothing_  like when she'd had those 'dalliances'. It was so much better. While Cas didn't have the experience or know-how, he had the true emotions that fueled him, which the others hadn't, and it showed, especially in the way he trembled slightly.

Finally, slowly, Cas pulled away and leaned his forehead down against hers. He then brought his hand to her chest and rested it against her heart. "It is not only mine that is racing."

He sounded so breathless and surprised.

She let out a soft chuckle as she raised her hand to rest over  _his_. "No, it isn't."

Hearing footsteps approaching, Chloe pressed up on her tiptoes and pressed another kiss to Cas' lips before pulling away. The blonde couldn't keep the stupid ass smile off of her face as she went behind the counter in time for the first patrons of the evening to arrive. She sent a look in Castiel's direction, her smile turning slightly evil at the way he was watching her, eyes darker.

Congratulating herself on a job well done, Chloe couldn't help it if she was more  _bubbly_  that night.

The only thing is that she was so in her own little world of bliss that she didn't notice Midnite in the back, glaring angrily at them.


	2. Chapter 2

That was it.

She was  _quitting_.

Slamming the goddamned outfit down on Midnite's desk, the blonde looked around her, wanting to destroy the whole fucking place. The whole night she'd been unable to do anything to defend herself from that slimey bastard's touches because of the extra heavy anti-violence spell he'd placed on Papa Midnite's after the John Winchester debacle. Chloe didn't know what the  _fuck_  was going on with her boss, but he needed help, and he needed it from someone who wasn't her because she'd just  _kill_  him. She did  _not_  let anyone touch her without her wanting them to, and right now she was-.

Taking in a deep breath, Chloe was glad that Midnite had disappeared before the club closed. This way she didn't have to see him face to face and figure out who was stronger, him or a novice Morning Star.

Whipping out her cellular, she punched in Midnite's number, nearly breaking her phone with the force.

The phone rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

And then Midnite picked up.

"You better have a  _very_  good reason for calling me at this hour, girl," his voice was a low growl.

Usually she'd be intimidated, but tonight she was too pissed. "How about 'I quit', huh? You  _bastard_."

There was a moment's silence, and then the sound of movement. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You really didn't think that I'd  _stay_  after tonight, did you?" Chloe snapped, giving his desk a little kick. "You fucking  _harassed_  me!"

"Are you drunk?" Midnite asked.

"Am I-?" Chloe snarled. "How  _dare_  you-?"

"If you're not drunk then we have problems, because I'm in Vancouver right now and I have no idea what the hell you're accusing me of." Midnite let out an aggravated sigh.

Chloe froze. "You told me the meeting was cancelled."

"Cancelled? Hell woman, I've been stuck with a bunch of gremlins and goblins for five fucking hours listening to them bitch back and forth!" Midnite snapped. "So either  _you're drunk_  or there's someone there impersonating me."

Chloe collapsed onto a seat. "Oh boy."

"I take it you're not drunk."

"Sorry." Chloe covered her face with her free hand. "I take back what I said to you. I should have  _known_  that you wouldn't...do...something like that."

He scoffed. "Precisely."

Chloe groaned as she leaned back in her chair. "Can I un-resign?"

"Find the bastard pretending to me and we'll talk about it," Midnite mumbled. "And when you catch him, put him in the cage in the acquisitions room. That'll keep him, whatever he is."

"Okay. Sure." She nodded, wondering just how she was going to do this.

She might need some help.

"Is he stealing money from the vault? Is that his reason for trying to be me?  _Other_  than harassing you, of course?"

Flinching at his tone, Chloe got up and went to Midnite's vault. She closed her eyes, psyching herself up, and then touched it, hissing in pain and pulling her hand away at the horrible sting. "The spell's still intact. If the valuables you keep here are what he was after, then he failed big time."

"He must have a reason to try to be me, so you need to get it out of him when you capture him."

She could read along the lines, and nodded. "In Hell I witnessed every single sort of torture there is. I'll get it out him."

"And if you don't, then  _I will,_ " Midnite promised darkly. "I'm coming back on the first flight."

"Wait!" Chloe stopped him from hanging up. "How do I know if its you you or him you?"

"I'll be the only who  _doesn't_  have his hand up your skirt," Midnight snapped, hanging up.

Chloe flinched.

Boy.

He was  _pissed_.

Shaking her head, Chloe called Constantine and let him know what was going on as she locked up everything, standing under the flickering streetlight that shone on the entrance of Papa Midnight's.

"How could you not tell from the beginning that it wasn't Midnite?" Constantine scolded her, disappointed. "I think that anyone who knew Midnite for a  _second_  would know that he is not the type of person to do something like that."

"I know." Chloe sighed, ashamed. "I was just distracted."

"You can't be distracted Chloe. Not you. How many times do I have to tell you this?" Constantine nagged, sounding like a disapproving older brother. "I'm not going to always be here to help you you know."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "God complex much?"

" _Chloe_..." Constantine mumbled.

"I'm  _sorry_  John," Chloe sighed. "I'll do better next time, I promise. I won't let anything distract me when something weird is obviously going on right in front of my-."

Suddenly a scream filled the air.

The blonde looked up.

It was coming from the alley behind the diner.

Dropping her phone, Chloe rushed across the street, dodging a couple of cars, before diving into the alley, following the sound, and when she came upon the scene that greeted her she went still.

Lois Lane was bloody and bruised, kneeling on the ground, eyes closed tightly, waiting for the blow without even trying to defend herself. Above her, sneering down at her with hatred, was  _Chloe_.

"Do it," Lois whispered, eyes still closed tightly. "I deserve it.  _Do it_."

Raising the dagger in her hand, the Chloe-double sneered. "Go to  _hell_ you fucking  _bitch_."

" _Hey_!" Chloe yelled.

The Chloe-double turned to her, eyes widening.

Lois' eyes flew open and she looked in Chloe's direction before looking up at the double, and back, shock on her battered face.

"You!" Chloe pointed at the double. "You don't get to kill her!" She then pointed to Lois. "And  _you_! Don't you just fucking let someone  _kill_ you you idiot!"

"But-." Lois still kept looking between them.

"Now the  _hell_  away from her." Chloe returned her attention to the double.

"She sent you to hell," her double protested. "She betrayed your trust and sided with your enemies. If you can't do it then I'll do it for you!"

"I don't  _need_  your help. If I  _wanted_  her dead, I would have killed her the first time I saw her. Believe me, killing doesn't bother me!" Chloe snapped, taking a menacing step towards them. "Now get the  _hell_ away from her or I'm going to send  _you_  to hell."

"You wouldn't." Her face sneered back at her. "I'm on  _your_  side."

"And what side is that? I'm neutral!" Chloe threw her hands in the air. "I don't  _care_  if I'm the fucking new Morning Star! I don't give a  _shit_ who wins in the divine war! So guess what, genius? I don't  _have_  a side."

"There is no such thing as neutral." Her double shook her head. "The only ones who  _really_  think that are in denial."

"What's it with one side or the other wanting a fight? Seriously." Chloe shook her hands, hands akimbo. "We just had an Apocalypse what? Last year in earth years? You all wanna go nose dive into another already? If you want the world to die, wait a couple of years, global warming will kill everyone anyway."

Her double smirked, amused.

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You know I have a point. Soon humanity will have killed their earth to the point where only paranormals or Vessels will be able to breathe their air and survive. Humanity will die off because of their own stupidity. Everyone but us are going to die anyway. I say why kill off  _ourselves_  in some stupid battle just to have earth to ourselves quicker?"

"We prefer not to  _share_  the earth," her double responded.

"We." Chloe caught the word. "Is this hell? Heaven? Or some little sect? Are there more of you out there?"

"Why don't you come with us and find out?" Midnite's voice rumbled in her ear from behind her seconds before she was grabbed, her arms twisted behind her painfully.

"Oh, I was  _hoping_  you'd show up." Chloe knocked her head back into his face violently and pulled out of his grip when he let go with a scream, hands to his face. The blonde kicked him in the mouth of his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs and forcing him to bend over. She then twirled and kneed the side of his face, sending him to the ground.

" _Chloe behind you_!" Lois screamed.

Twirling around, Chloe barely ducked the dagger thrusted towards her, and she grabbed that hand, jerking her double towards her and using the momentum to slam the heel of her palm into the other's face, the sound of a nose breaking loud and clear. She then grabbed the screaming female by her hair and jerked her head back violently.

Her own eyes were looking at her in fear.

But before Chloe could do anything, she felt a sting in her neck, and cried, letting go of the double, who collapsed to the ground, holding her nose.

"Chloe!" Lois screamed.

Palming the dart deep in her neck, Chloe yanked it out, looking at it as the world started to spin and she collapsed to her knees.

Someone at the end of the alley was walking towards her.

" _Cas,_ " Chloe whispered, her lips beginning to go numb.

The figure kept coming closer.

"Stay away from her!" Lois stood in front of her, holding herself in a way that betrayed the fact that a couple of her ribs might be broken.

There was laughter.

Suddenly a bright light appeared, and when it was gone Chloe found herself in her bedroom, on the bed, with Castiel and a still bloody and beaten Lois standing by the edge.

"What the fuck just happened?" Lois asked.

But Chloe couldn't hear the answer because the world went black, and her eyes rolled in the back of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up was a bitch.

She was obviously under the effects of a very strong tranquilizer, and that meant that while her mind was already awake, she didn't even have the energy to move, moan, or open her eyes. So for all intents and purposes, she was awake but sleeping all at the same time. At least her hearing was perfect, and she could hear the voices in the room as they spoke.

"I'm telling you, it was identical to her, and you," Lois was saying, sounding annoyed, as if she'd been asked this over and over again. "I mightn't know you, but I know Chloe, and I couldn't tell the difference between her and the double. They spoke the same, looked the same, hell, she even moved like Chloe."

"They could have been shapeshifters," Constantine murmured.

"No, there were not," Cas disagreed. "I was only there for the time it took to teleport Chloe and Miss Lane to safety, but I know that they were not shapeshifters. Their energies were blocked, as if there was something keeping me from being able to sense them."

"Were they trying to infiltrate Papa Midnite's?" Angela wondered. "They took on both Midnite's and Chloe's forms, and they are the two who basically run the place."

"Nothing was touched," Midnite's gruff voice grumbled. "I went over everything myself, and nothing was even tampered with. They had no interest in what I keep in the offices behind the club."

Chloe could finally move her fingers.

"The double told Chloe that they were on the same side." Lois cleared her throat. "But it obviously wasn't true because Chloe told her that she was neutral and the double said that being neutral was being in denial."

"Were you able to get a look at the one who filled her with tranquilizer?" Constantine wanted to know.

"No," Cas replied.

"Yes," Lois responded. "And I recognized him. He's a regular at the diner I work at. I thought he was human all along. He always comes in at the same time, orders the same thing, and sits at the same place, looking out through the plate glass wall in the front. I thought he was always thinking about something, but after what happened its obvious that he was casing Papa Midnite's. It's right across the street, and the diner would be the best place to keep an eye on the place and not be noticed."

Chloe could finally open her eyes.

"Can you describe him?" Angela asked.

"Yes..." Lois flinched. "No." She frowned. "I-I know what he looks like, but every time I try to remember it gets fuzzier and fuzzier."

"The Spell of Forgetfulness," Midnite growled. "Don't try thinking of him anymore, the more you do the more the spell will erase your memory of him."

"Telling me not to think of him is just going to make me want to think of him more! It's a mental thing!" Lois whined.

"Is there a way you can break the spell?" Angela was obviously asking Midnite.

"It's on him, not her. I'd need to be close to him. Physically."

Chloe finally felt the control of her own body return to her.

"Great," Constantine huffed. "What about you, Castiel? Can't you do some angelic crap to help?"

"Not every angelic gift is the same. The human mind is not my speciality," Castiel responded. "But it is one of Lumiel's."

There was silence.

Chloe groaned, sitting up and bringing her hand to her head. "Then I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to do it, huh?"

"Chloe..." Lois whispered, relieved, though she stayed where she was.

Cas had obviously healed her wounds, since she looked untouched and far from the broken and beaten person in that alleyway. She was also obviously keeping herself from going to Chloe, knowing she wouldn't be welcomed.

"Oh thank god you're okay!" Angela rushed forwards, throwing her arms around Chloe. "We were so worried!"

"Don't exaggerate Angela," Constantine mumbled grumpily. "We all knew it was only a tranquilizer and that she'd wake up eventually."

Chloe sent him an amused look over Angela's shoulder, before hugging the other woman. "I'm okay, Ange."

She didn't miss the look that flashed over Lois' face. It was a mixture of resentfulness, sadness, and resignation.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Midnite nodded towards her.

Chloe cast a look in his direction. "Do I still have my job?"

"I think we have more important matters to discus." Constantine rolled his eyes.

"Not for me we don't," Chloe countered. "My rent is up in a couple of days."

Midnite looked amused at this and nodded to her, not having to say anything.

Chloe beamed at him, only turning away to look at Castiel when he sat down on the edge of her bed and cupped her cheek.

Castiel eyed her in silent worry, tracing his thumb over her face. "You seem fine." And yet his eyes were still scanning her, as if making sure that his assessment was accurate. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Chloe rested her hand against the one he still had on her face and leaned into his touch.

They stared at each other in silence, her fingers threading through his.

Midnite raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Lois' eyes widened in shock.

Angela bit her bottom lip, expression clearly expressing how romantic she found this all, as she reached for Constantine's hand.

Constantine looked like he didn't know what exactly he should do in this situation.

Cas didn't seem to notice the others as he spoke to Chloe. "This is the reverse of what you've already done to the hunters who attacked you: giving people images. You're going to need to actually take the image from Lois. It's harder."

"Tell me what to do," she whispered. "I'll do it."

Lois looked between Cas and Chloe, confused and conflicted.

Cas nodded, helping Chloe out of bed and taking her, hand in hand, towards Lois. "You need to connect yourself with her mind. The easiest way is to establish some sort of physical contact and to look her directly in the eyes."

Taking in a deep breath, Chloe really looked at her cousin for the first time since her returned.

Lois appeared paler, thinner, with dark bags under her eyes.

Chloe looked away and took a deep breath, before staring Lois in her hazel eyes once more. The blonde reached out and grabbed her cousin's wrist, tightening her hold on it.

At first there was nothing, and then her body jolted as the power took over.

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_Lois Lane sat on Chloe's bed, hugging a pillow to her heart and crying softly into it._

_Sam Winchester stood by the window, looking out at Bobby Singer's Junkyard, his posture defeated._

_Dean leaned against a wall, head bowed, skin pale, a silent, lone tear making its way down his cheek._

_They'd once been three proud warriors, and yet they'd been reduced to nothing._

_"I should have let the world end." Lois cried into the pillow. "I should have realized that it was Lumiel in control and not her!"_

_"You're not the only one who was fooled." Sam's voice was dark and hate-filled as he slammed his clenched into the window frame. "He played us for fools, and we couldn't see what was right in front of our eyes!"_

_"We let her down." Dean's voice was hoarse and deeper than usual. "I accepted the bastard who tried to KILL her!"_

_They looked at each other, self-hatred shining through their tortured eyes._

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_Lois was alone._

_Dean and Sam couldn't handle it, had left._

_John was an insensitive bastard._

_Missouri and Bobby just weren't her family._

_She'd killed her family._

_Sent her soul only god knew where._

_At night Lois was terrified to sleep because she had nightmares of Chloe in hell._

_It was her biggest fear._

_She wanted to believe with all her heart that Chloe's soul was in heaven, but at night her dreams were tormented with visions of Chloe suffering, being tortured, all because of her._

_The brunette looked at the container of pills._

_She was sick of being alone._

_If Chloe was in hell, then she was going there too._

_Dumping the pills into her palm, Lois threw her head back, filling her mouth with them, and swallowed them down with a glass of water._

_She then made her way to Chloe's bed in the Singer residence and laid down, hugging the pillow to her body, waiting to die._

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_"She's dead, Lois." John Winchester stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed. "You did the right thing when you saved the world! Don't let some misguided sense of guilt-."_

_"Shut up!" Lois snapped, turning towards him, furious and hurt and still healing from her suicide attempt. "I shouldn't have listened to you! I shouldn't have lost my faith in her!"_

_"You can't blame me for your actions," John hissed. "YOU killed her. Not ME."_

_Lois flinched, looking away, tears filling her eyes. "I know. And I can never forgive myself for that."_

_She turned back to her suitcase, which she was filling with the little amount of things she had to her name. She'd just been released from the hospital, and Lois could remember the few moments she'd been dead, could remember those few short minutes in hell._

_It'd been an eternity of agony._

_What if Chloe had spent the last year there?_

_She threw her things harder._

_Sam and Dean had been right._

_She needed to get the fuck away from all of this._

_"Lois, you saved the world." John placed a hand on her shoulder._

_She slapped him, jerking out of his hold. "Fuck the world, John!"_

_Slamming the suitcase closed she grabbed the handle and brushed passed him out of the room, out of the Singer home, out of their lives._

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_"How are they doing, Ellen?" Lois asked into the phone as she curled up in the small bed of her tiny apartment._

_"How are you doing?" Ellen Harvelle asked instead. "If you know the answer to that, you know the answer to your question."_

_Lois closed her eyes and sighed. "I thought staying with you and Jo would help them. You're more family to them right now than John is."_

_"You should come here too." Ellen told her. "Honey, it's not healthy for you to be alone during this time."_

_"Sam, Dean and I can't be in the same place." Lois shook her head. "We remind each other of her. It'd destroy us."_

_"As if the three of you aren't destroyed already?" Ellen snapped. "Lois! Those boys are suicidal! They find the most dangerous hunts they can get and they don't take the precautions they should! Each and every hunt they go on Jo and I are terrified is going to be their last! And you don't even have us to look after you."_

_"I gave up hunting." Lois wrapped herself up tightly. "I only started to to find a way to get Lumiel out of Chloe. Now that she's-gone-I don't have a reason to continue doing so."_

_"Lois..."_

_"I'll speak to you later, Ellen, goodnight." Hanging up, Lois brought the phone to her mouth and closed her eyes tightly._

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_She looked up from the seedy little joint she was waitressing in, eyes narrowing when she recognized the hunter coming towards her._

_"I don't speak to John Winchester anymore." She glared at him._

_"I"m not here to look for John Winchester." Hank sneered the name as if it were the ugliest curse. "I'm here to tell you that your cousin, she's alive."_

_Lois' eyes widened and her legs gave out on her, causing her to collapse onto an empty chair. "What?"_

_"I won't give you all the details, but I saw her, talked to her, in L.A., Hank replied, chin high. "My friends and I were led to believe that she was Lumiel, and we attacked her." He paused. "The others didn't make it."_

_Lois brought her hand to her heart. "She killed them?"_

_"Yes." Hank nodded. "But we were all tricked. She's Chloe, not Lumiel. She spared my life once I realized this."_

_Lois could barely see him through the veil of unshed tears in her eyes. "How is this possible?"_

_"I don't know, but I felt you needed to know," Hank responded. "She works in a bar where demons and angels go, a neutral zone, called Papa Midnite's. I'll give you the directions."_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

_Lois had always known Chloe wouldn't welcome her back with open arms, and it was one of the things that helped her realize that this was in fact her baby cousin. She knew that Chloe had told her she'd kill her if she didn't leave, and after trying to commit suicide Lois knew exactly where her soul would go after her cousin killed her, but she didn't care. Chloe hadn't spent a year in hell as she'd always feared, she'd nearly spent two HUNDRED years in hell, and Lois would never forgive herself for that._

_But she also couldn't leave._

_She couldn't._

_So she got a job waitressing at the diner across from Papa Midnight's, and got an apartment a couple of blocks away._ _At least this way she could see Chloe when the blonde walked passed the diner to go and ready the club, a_ _nd she knew that Chloe was safe._

_Sometimes Chloe wouldn't be alone._

_Sometimes she'd be with other people Lois didn't know._

_People who made her cousin laugh and joke and roll her eyes in amusement._

_Lois resented them and loved them at the same time._

_"More coffee please."_

_Turning towards that costumer, the one who was always there in that same table day after day, Lois sighed and forced a smile on her face as she grabbed the coffee cup and refilled the glass._

_It'd taken her so long to figure out if this person was a male or a female, but she was almost sure that it was a male despite the delicate body and features...and soft voice._

_There was just something about the way he carried himself that was masculine._

_And of course there was the way he dressed._

_But then again this could just be a masculine transvestite._

_"Will that be all?" She asked._

_The person looked up at her. "Have you ever done something you thought was the right thing to do, but in the end you realized you were just the pawn in a fight between two bigger players?"_

_That question hit harder to home than Lois would have liked to admit._

_"I was sure that I was doing what was needed, and yet only too late did I realize that I'd screwed myself." The person chuckled darkly, head of blonde curls shaking. "But maybe it isn't too late."_   
_  
_

_v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v_

Chloe yanked her hand from Lois's wrist and gasped in a deep, desperate gulp of air. Her knees buckled under her and she would have fallen if Cas hadn't grabbed her.

"Did it work?" Lois asked, nervously, refusing to look at Chloe in the eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Cas asked, eyes narrowed, reaching one hand down to softly swipe his fingers against the wetness of her cheeks.

Chloe hadn't realized she'd cried until then.

She couldn't look at her cousin.

Not yet.

Not after-not after seeing that.

"It worked." Clearing her throat, Chloe turned to Constantine. "I know who it is."

"Who?" He narrowed his eyes, taking a step towards her.

Chloe took in a deep breath and let it out. "Gabriel."


	4. Chapter 4

Midnite had gone back to the club and had taken Lois with him to keep her safe, while Chloe, Constantine, Angela and Castiel readied to go look for Gabriel. Out of them all Constantine was the one who (reluctantly) had more contact with the fallen angel, and he knew the places where he might be. Angela was just itching for an excuse to let loose on the angel turned human, and now she the perfect opportunity to do so. Despite the fact that Gabriel was still human, he obviously had some magic on his side, and so they went prepared for a fight.

Constantine led the group to Gabriel's apartment, and yet it was abandoned, showing signs of having been empty for a while now.

In the middle of the apartment was a book.

Inside of the book was an address.

Obviously Gabriel had known that they would discover his part in this, and had readied for the battle that would happen.

"This is a trap." Castiel announced, frowning.

"No shit." Constantine shook his head, closing the book with a snap. "But we don't have another choice. Gabriel's up to something again, and remember how that ended the  _last time_."

Angela touched her stomach, flinching, obviously remembering how Mammon had tried to be reborn through her flesh.

"Can you zap us to this direction?" Constantine turned to Castiel.

"Yes, I have the ability." The angel nodded slowly. "But I do not think that it is wise considering that we are all in agreement that this is a trap set by my brother." His intense blue eyes rested on the women. "And if his past acts are anything to go by, he will be after them."

"I'm no good to him now." Angela shook her head. "If anything he attacked Chloe."

"But his people said they were on my side. He's not going to want to hurt me," Chloe argued. "He probably has his retinue around him as protection and wants to talk to us face to face so that we can know what it is he wants."

"I do not like this." Castiel frowned. "His previous actions prove that Gabriel is not the sort of person to talk things out. He plans and then he puts his plans into action."

"Look Angel boy. Either you zap us there, or we take a taxi." Constantine raised an eyebrow. "Either way, we're going to this address."

"Yeah." Angela nodded, chin raising.

Castiel looked between them before turning to Chloe. "Reconsider."

"You don't have to come if you don't feel its right." Chloe reached over and placed his hand on his arm.

The Angel looked down at her and sighed, shaking his head.

Suddenly light enveloped them, and when it was gone they were standing in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, and there, sitting on a makeshift dais, was Gabriel. Around him people Chloe had never seen before stood, though the injuries of two of them betrayed which two had been the ones she'd gone up against.

"Welcome, Morning Star." Gabriel tilted his head slightly, golden curls bouncing. "I am so glad that you were able to make it."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Gabriel."

Gabriel's sharp gaze then went to Castiel. "Brother."

Castiel nodded, eyes narrowed, wary.

"What the  _fuck_  are you after now, Gabriel?" Constantine snarled, taking a step towards the sitting fallen angel.

"You know John, you were given the most amazing opportunity. Lumiel himself was dragging you to hell and you were  _saved_ , given another chance." Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "You'd think you would have refined your vocabulary."

"Listen here you pissant-." Constantine took a menacing step towards him, lifting his gun...and then in a blink of an eye he was gone.

" _John_?" Angela looked around them, horrified.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Gabriel. "What did you just do to him?"

"Don't worry, I didn't  _hurt_  him," Gabriel reassured, a slow smirk adorned that androgynous face. "I just need a little guarantee."

Angela suddenly gasped, and in the blink of an eye she was gone too.

"A  _big_  guarantee." Gabriel's smirk grew victorious.

Chloe growled and would have went at the bastard if Cas' hand hadn't come down on her shoulder.

"This isn't angelic magic," he hissed, keeping her at his side. "This is more powerful."

She turned to him, eyes narrowed. "What's stronger than angelic magic?"

" _God's_  magic," Gabriel responded, snapping his fingers, a long rod in bloom appearing in his hands.

Chloe's eyes widened. "Is that-?"

Castiel's eyes widened in horror. "No brother! You  _didn't_!"

"Oh, but I did, Castiel." Gabriel smirked. "It was very easy to tip off the hunters as to  _where_  Lilith had been hiding the Ark of the Covenant out of my reach. Demons cannot use the rod, only an angel or one with angelic blood in their veins can use Aaron's Rod that Bloomed, so she meant to keep it away from me so that I could never use it and regain power." He chuckled. "It is fitting that I use it now that I have been stripped of my angelic power and wings considering that it is  _I_  whom our Father used to siphon some of his power into it." Gabriel eyed the rod nostalgically. "Do you remember those days, Castiel? When humans actually  _tried_  to do Father's bidding?"

"There are still people alive today whom try to follow Him," Castiel responded darkly.

"Not for the right reasons." Gabriel tutted. "Some want to be able to boast of being more pious than their neighbor. Some are scared of perdition. And some because it is expected of them. Not  _one_  do it because they  _truly_  love Father."

"What? And  _you're_  the perfect example of an obedient child?" Chloe snapped. "You tried to bring Mammon into this world! Your Father abandoned you and your wings were  _cut off_."

"He's your Father too, Chloe." Gabriel didn't seem affected by her comment. "You might not be my brother Lumiel, but you have his tainted grace in you, and that makes you my Sister."

"I'm an only child." She narrowed her eyes.

"You are very stubborn, it is the humanity still in you." Gabriel told her. "And as for your question, for a while I was depressed, thinking that my Father had abandoned me too, but then I realized that He had given me the greatest gift. I could mingle better within the human rank, go places barred to angels by deep magics, and through that I was finally able to find the location of the Ark, and the holiest of artifacts. Thanks to my Father's foresight and unfailing wisdom I was given the key to greater power than I had had before with my wings." Gabriel rested the rod on his lap. "And with this and the other artifacts I have what I need to once more do my Father's will. I am His sword."

"Phallic imagery aside..." Chloe narrowed her eyes. "If you're so High and Mighty now, then why have your people pretend to be me and Midnite? Why try to kill Lois?" She smirked. "There's something you're not saying."

"Do you yet not understand?" Gabriel asked, standing. "Do you  _truly_ believe that everything that happened has been by chance? Was it mere  _coincidence_  that you were activated as a Vessel the moment Lumiel escaped his prison and the chains that kept him bound and restricted in this world? You believed it only mere chance that all the other presences were so unbearable and made him seem like the best choice? Chloe, Sam Winchester might have been chosen by Azazel to be Lumiel's Vessel, but you were chosen by  _Heaven_  to be his instead."

Chloe's eyes widened in horror. " _What_?"

Cas' eyes narrowed. "That's a lie."

"Oh no, I assure you, it's true. I knew of this plan before my fall," Gabriel responded in a congenial tone. "You see, heaven had seen how the future would be if Lumiel pursued Samuel Winchester as a Vessel, and it ended in the Vessel jumping back into the pit, trapping him and Lumiel once more."

"What would be wrong with that future?" Castiel wanted to know. "In it we win."

"No. In it we lose one of the strongest, if not strongest, angelic beings...  _again_." Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "And heaven didn't want to lose that power to hell once more. You see, they  _feared_  Lumiel because they knew he wouldn't be able to be killed, not even by Michael. Why keep so powerful a being locked up, useless, when you could harness that power once more and use it as your own?"

Chloe felt her world beginning to spin.

"What heaven didn't expect was how  _tight_  those ties between you, your cousin, and the Winchester boys were," Gabriel continued. "They thought that as soon as Lumiel took control the fight would begin. You see, you were always supposed to die at the hands of Lois Lane, you were meant to be in hell, to be broken and lose all love and loyalty to anyone."

Her heart was racing.

"But Dean wouldn't accept Michael, and Sam and Lois were backing up his decision to say No. The three of them were sure that they could find another way to free you from Lumiel's hold." Gabriel gave a little sigh. "And so, how I hear it, heaven decided to give Dean a little  _nudge_."

Chloe's eyes widened, remembering what Missouri had told her was the reason why Dean had accepted Michael in the end.

Cas' narrowed. "You lie! My Brothers and Sisters would  _never_ slaughter innocent children!"

"If it was for the sake of the greater good?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Kill a few, save the world?"

Cas lowered his eyes, shaking his head.

Chloe was finding it hard to breathe.

"So Dean finally played into their plans and accepted Michael, who knew from the beginning that he was going to die, that there was no way he could win against Lumiel." Gabriel smiled at this in a 'what can you do?' kind of way. "He gave his life and it was time for Lois to play the part heaven had ordained she play. It had to be Lois. Sam couldn't because he was an intended Vessel for Lumiel and they feared that our Brother might find a way to siphon some of himself into Sam if they came into contact."

Everything...  _everyone_... had been manipulated.

They'd been puppets on the strings, controlled by cruel puppeteers.

"But even in her last moment, Lois hesitated." Gabriel continued with a sympathetic expression. "She didn't even notice it, her mind so confused, it was so easy for her mind to be influenced just long enough to have her kill you with the Spear of Destiny."

Chloe collapsed to her knees, reeling from all these blows.

"Heaven left you rotting in hell for as long as it would take to have you so broken that the moment you returned you wouldn't be Lumiel or Chloe anymore. You would have no loyalties or love for those whom you'd once known," Gabriel explained, still in that friendly tone. "Only when they were sure of this, did they make it so that Castiel would stumble upon your file and bring your case up to the Council. Castiel himself was a pawn in this game."

Castiel looked up, intense blue eyes wide.

"They then had Constantine, a man betrayed by his loved ones as well, a man who  _wouldn't_  encourage you to forgive your betrayers, take you out of hell and train you. And they knew that with all these elements you would gravitate towards Midnite, to neutrality, where you could strengthen without them having to worry about your corruption before they could use you again." Gabriel tilted his head to the side, golden curls bouncing. "This is why I am making  _guests_  of Constantine and Miss Dodson. As long as I have them, heaven will not have their help, nor  _yours_. Their lives are my insurance."

"If you're so sure that you're doing Father's will, why do you need a bargaining tool?" Castiel asked.

"Because not all of our siblings follow our Father's will, Castiel, they will want to stop me before I do what has to be done," Gabriel explained as if this should be obvious.

"Let John and Angela go. I won't do anything against you, I won't get in your way. Just let them go." Chloe stood, taking in a deep breath.

"I think I'll keep them," Gabriel denied her request. "Heed this warning, Morning Star. If you join forces with heaven, you will have sentenced both of them to hell. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Chloe nodded.

"Chloe." Cas frowned at her.

"Do I have your word then?" Gabriel asked curiously.

"You have my word, as the Morning Star, that I won't join forces with heaven, even if they threaten to kill me," Chloe swore.

"Good." Gabriel grinned brightly. "And thanks to your cooperation, I promise that they will not be hurt. No one you know or care for, not even your little cousin, will be touched. Not even after what I am about to do."

And then, with the blink of an eye, Cas and Chloe were standing alone in the abandoned warehouse.

"Why would you agree to those terms?" The angel frowned at her. "Heaven-."

" _Fuck_  Heaven! You heard what Gabriel just told us! They're just as evil as Hell is!" She snapped at him, before taking in a deep breath. "Cas, take us to Midnite."

"Gabriel can't be telling the truth." Castiel shook his head in denial. "He  _can't."_

Yet with a blinding light, they were gone.


End file.
